Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for motorcyclists.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Everyone who uses our roads has a right to feel safe, including motorcyclists. With that in mind, the Department included motorcyclists in the new Road Safety Strategy. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. Improving motorcycle safety is an integral part of that aim.
As part of the Road Safety Strategy, the Government launched a consultation on an ambitious package of reforms to the training, testing and licensing regime for Category A moped and motorcycle licences in Great Britain.
This consultation, which opened on 7 January and closed on 11 May, will help inform a targeted review of the training, testing and licensing regime.
As set out in the Road Safety Strategy, the government is now supporting further PRIME pilot trials in additional regions across the country. PRIME is a targeted road safety initiative designed to help motorcyclists negotiate sharp bends more safely. These pilots will be subject to the necessary technical approvals. The Department for Transport will also ensure that all participating authorities undertake robust monitoring and evaluation so that the effectiveness and safety benefits of PRIME can be fully assessed.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of sustained strike activity at educational bodies on pupils and students.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Strike action is damaging to pupils’ education and the department encourages unions and employers to work together constructively to resolve disputes. Through the department’s ‘Handling strike action in schools’ guidance, we provide advice to headteachers to take all reasonable steps to keep schools open for as many pupils as possible and minimise the impact on children’s education. Departmental officials and ministers regularly engage with trade unions on a wide range of issues, including matters relating to the workforce and supporting good industrial relations.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to minimise the impact upon pupils and students of sustained strike activity at educational bodies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Strike action is damaging to pupils’ education and the department encourages unions and employers to work together constructively to resolve disputes. Through the department’s ‘Handling strike action in schools’ guidance, we provide advice to headteachers to take all reasonable steps to keep schools open for as many pupils as possible and minimise the impact on children’s education. Departmental officials and ministers regularly engage with trade unions on a wide range of issues, including matters relating to the workforce and supporting good industrial relations.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with trade unions involved in sustained strike activity at educational bodies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Strike action is damaging to pupils’ education and the department encourages unions and employers to work together constructively to resolve disputes. Through the department’s ‘Handling strike action in schools’ guidance, we provide advice to headteachers to take all reasonable steps to keep schools open for as many pupils as possible and minimise the impact on children’s education. Departmental officials and ministers regularly engage with trade unions on a wide range of issues, including matters relating to the workforce and supporting good industrial relations.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to facilitate special consideration by exam boards for pupils and students affected by sustained strike activity at educational bodies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Special consideration is available where a student experiences a temporary illness, injury or other unforeseen event immediately before or during an exam or assessment that significantly affects their performance. It is intended to address disruption at the time of the assessment itself and can only be awarded where a student was fully prepared for the assessment.
Special consideration does not apply to wider disruption to a student’s learning, including disruption caused by teacher absence or strike action. As the independent regulator of exams and assessments, Ofqual’s legal framework is clear that qualifications must reflect what students know, understand and can do at the time of their assessment.
Throughout any strike action, schools and colleges should take the necessary steps to ensure that students are supported and prepared for their exams, this may include prioritising school places for exam year students or offering catch up lessons and additional revision sessions.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide mitigation in examination results for pupils and students affected by sustained strike activity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Special consideration is available where a student experiences a temporary illness, injury or other unforeseen event immediately before or during an exam or assessment that significantly affects their performance. It is intended to address disruption at the time of the assessment itself and can only be awarded where a student was fully prepared for the assessment.
Special consideration does not apply to wider disruption to a student’s learning, including disruption caused by teacher absence or strike action. As the independent regulator of exams and assessments, Ofqual’s legal framework is clear that qualifications must reflect what students know, understand and can do at the time of their assessment.
Throughout any strike action, schools and colleges should take the necessary steps to ensure that students are supported and prepared for their exams, this may include prioritising school places for exam year students or offering catch up lessons and additional revision sessions.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has reviewed the eligibility requirements for riders progressing from a 50cc motorcycle to a 125cc motorcycle.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has announced a consultation on a package of reforms to the training, testing and licensing regime for category A moped and motorcycle licences in Great Britain.
The consultation, opened on 7 January and closed on 11 May 2026. The responses are currently being analysed. Further information about the consultation is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe complies with UK law, following its decision to retire physical media on its gaming systems.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department keeps the consumer protection framework under review to ensure that it is effective in protecting consumers but has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact on high street retailers of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe's decision to retire physical media on its gaming systems.
This is a commercial decision for Sony to make. Consumers are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions to businesses directly. This encourages businesses to adapt and compete fairly based on demand.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on high street retailers of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe's decision to retire physical media on its gaming systems.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department keeps the consumer protection framework under review to ensure that it is effective in protecting consumers but has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact on high street retailers of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe's decision to retire physical media on its gaming systems.
This is a commercial decision for Sony to make. Consumers are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions to businesses directly. This encourages businesses to adapt and compete fairly based on demand.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Independent - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that transport infrastructure is delivered in conjunction with major developments such as new housing and renewable energy projects.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, using a vision-led approach to identify transport solutions that deliver well-designed, sustainable and popular places. This should involve understanding and addressing the potential impacts of development on transport networks, and realising opportunities from existing or proposed transport infrastructure, and changing transport technology and usage – for example in relation to the scale, location or density of development that can be accommodated.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to sustainable transport and updated policy on the vision-led approach to planning for transport. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.